Blame Game
by Tara Phoenix
Summary: Had a bad day? Tallahassee can put you on the road to it getting better with a bit of wisdome. Be warned its a bit depressing. M for language / character death. Columbus/Wichita Please R
1. Blame Game

**Had the worst day ever and was inspired... I think I had one profound line in it.**

**Please enjoy and if you have time drop me a review  
**

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The truck had been silent for forty miles. What they had said before that time had been no more constructive than the silence. Tallahassee let his eyes drift out the driver side window for a moment. Wichita had been steadily gazing out the passenger side window for the last half hour.

"We should find a place to stop," he said, his voice raspy from disuse. She shrugged, refusing to look at him.

"Whatever," she said lifelessly. He wasn't about to say anything more as he eyes her pulling at her sleeve. Dried blood made it hard, a crusty shell clinging to her skin.

Again his eyes wondered to the emptiness around the car. The middle of Iowa's crop fields made him feel even more isolated from everything. A farmhouse rose out of the dead land and he stopped the truck. It looked sound save for a broken window and a corpse on the front lawn. "Wait here," he said getting out.

"Fuck you," she snapped back at him, slamming the door. Nothing inside the house stirred and they entered. A zombie was in the garage, chasing rats, but no one else was around. Tallahassee took care of it silently with a knife.

The mild disarray of the house was not bad and they deemed it a worthy place to stay. "Candles," she said carrying a box from the kitchen. At one point some foolish person must have thought that candles without matches and flashlights without batteries was a survival kit, as the box indicated.

"Lets bring in the bags… you can lock everything down while I seal up the window," he said. She didn't say a word, but must have agreed as she moved past him, back outside. He followed and opened the back hatch, grabbing his duffle. Tallahassee paused as he watched Wichita stare at the bags, then slowly her hand fell on the small red suitcase. He could see the thoughts swirling in her head. "We don't have to get rid of it if you don't want to," he said even though he wanted nothing more than to be rid of it. Wichita seemed to snap to and grabbed her bag, slamming the trunk shut.

Retreating back into the house, Wichita locked, and covered the windows and doors while Tallahassee boarded up the broken one. When he stood back and wiped the sweat from his forehead he looked over to see her standing in the doorway. "The house is locked down. I left the candles and matches out on the counter, and there is some shit I found for you to eat," she said bitterly then turned to go.

"Hey," he said stopping her. She turned back, glaring at him. "Maybe we should talk about this," Tallahassee sighed hating every syllable that escaped his lips. She could go fuck herself as far as he was concerned, but something unknown and hidden was holding him back.

"Florida just shut the fuck up right now," she snapped. "There is nothing to talk about," she hissed.

"Obviously there is," he growled back at her.

"Just don't!" she barked, standing rigidly barely able to get the words passed her clenched teeth.

"You're not the only one hurting," he said putting the hammer he had in his hands down so it wouldn't find its way to her skull.

"Oh Jesus Christ!" she snapped. That had been it. The straw that broke the camels back. She threw her arms into the air. "What the fuck kind of investment did you have?" she screamed at him.

"I-" Tallahassee raised his voice but was still cut off.

"No! NO!" she pointed a finger at him. "I just lost my boyfriend! I just lost him when he bled out right through my fingers! I just- I just lost my sister!" she was so angry the words got stuck in her throat. "I just had to SHOOT my baby sister!" it was clear Wichita was no longer in control of anything she said. "What did you loose? Huh! What?" she shouted picking up a lamp and hurling it at him. Tallahassee ducked out of the way. "This is all your fucking fault! You made us stop! Because of you they're gone!" she screamed then retreated away slamming a door down the hall so hard that the whole house seemed to shake.

Tallahassee felt tired and cold and just sank onto the nearby couch, letting his head hang down. "God…" he murmured putting both hands on the back of his head as he curled up a bit more. He just needed to redo the last day and a half. He sighed raising his head again and scrubbing a hand over his face.

_ "Hey, can I talk to you?" Columbus asked. Tallahassee tipped the brim of his hat back waking from the edge of sleep._

_ "Is there anyway I could stop you?" he asked. Columbus shot him a look. "What?" he muttered moving a little in the hammock to get more comfortable._

_ "I need you to say we gotta stop at a Wal-Mart or something," Columbus said. Tallahassee opened one eye looking at the kid._

_ "Come again?" he asked sharply. "Why in gods name would I do that? That place was a death trap before, now its like basting yourself in butter and saying eat me," he said._

_ "I know, but…" Columbus sighed. "I wanna get something nice for Wichita but we are never apart so I figure this is the only inconspicuous option," he said._

_ "I can't believe I am hearing this. How many rules are you breaking?" Tallahassee laughed. Columbus rolled his eyes._

_ "Six, but that's not the point," he answered so promptly and so seriously it made Tallahassee laugh again._

_ "Okay okay, fine. Tell you what spit fuck, I'll humor you. I'll call the stop and take the girls with me to get some twinkies and booze. Just don't spend all fucking day looking at the rings," Tallahassee said with a smirk as he tipped his hat down again._

_ "Thank you," Columbus said._

_ "You gotta do something for me in return though," the cowboy said just as Columbus was about to retreat. The younger man felt his heart sink._

_ "What?" he asked dreading the answer_

_ "Let me just get one nap in where Little Rock doesn't come around and wake me up wearing the goddamn Hanna Montana wig…" Tallahassee said. Columbus smirked._

_ "I can do that," he nodded._

Tallahassee stood up and walked out to the kitchen. He grabbed one of the candles and a matchbook, sticking it in his pocket. "Stupid little romantic… fucking… goddamn it!" he hissed bending over and grabbing the counter.

Wichita slammed the door and crossed the room, sitting down on the bed. She was panting from yelling and so mad her whole body shook. It was his entire fault. The stupid cowboy had done this and now he was so calm and removed from it she just wanted to kill him. She didn't care if he was the last man on earth that wouldn't eat her. He had done this and she could never forgive him.

_"Hey we're gonna make a stop," Tallahassee said pulling off the road._

_ "What?" Wichita asked._

_ "We're gonna stop at this Wal-Mart here," Tallahassee said._

_ "No," she shook her head. "That's a bad idea," she said then looked at Columbus in the seat next to her. "Tell him it's a bad idea," she touched his arm._

_ "You know there's no stopping him," Columbus shrugged._

_ "Just a quick in and out," Tallahassee said. "Columbus can watch the doors while you me and the little one go grab some stuff on the food end," Tallahassee said._

Wichita stood up, feeling stiff and cold. She was just numb to everything. It couldn't all be real, it had to just be a bad dream that she would wake up from. She crossed her arms in front of herself, holding on at the elbows. Her thumb brushed the hardness of the dried blood and she looked down.

She couldn't make it seem real. Then again she wasn't really sure she wanted to. Wichita couldn't bear to replay the events in her head. The vague understanding of what had happened was all she could manage.

She looked down at the truck. The deflated air mattress was still tied to the top. It made her smile for just a moment and she closed her eyes.

_"Oh, and there's Orion," he said pointing up at the black sky. Most of the power was off and more stars were visible than Wichita thought possible._

_ "How can you tell them apart?" she smiled snuggling in closer against him under all the blankets._

_ "I dunno, I just used to like this telescope I got for Christmas," Columbus said with that tone of voice he got when he talked about himself. She closed her eyes for a moment taking in every sensation. The open night air licking her cheeks, the muffled sound of Tallahassee and Little Rock in the truck below them, the steady beat of Columbus's heart, the way he drug his fingers up and down her arm lightly as she laid against him._

_ "What else is there up there?" she asked. His eyes danced across the sky for a moment._

_ "Big dipper…. Little Dipper," he pointed. She looked up picking out the stars against the black backdrop. When she stopped he was staring at her._

_ "What?" she asked. He shrugged shaking his head a little._

_ "Oh… just thinking it's a shame," he murmured. "You can't see something more beautiful than the stars like I can." She smiled earning a smile from him. Kissing him for a moment she nestled back down._

Wichita looked away and paced back into the room. She had to face it. She knew she had to face it because the numbness was killing her so slowly it was unbearable.

Tallahassee lit the match and brought the candle to life, lighting his way as he moved back from the kitchen and started down the hall. The shadows danced on the wall like the grim reaper. He wasn't going to let her blame him for all this. He was determined to tell the truth that she obviously hadn't put together yet.

He had been a fool to not stop it, but Columbus would have tried to do it on his own anyway. Tallahassee's involvement had been inconsequential. How dare she accuse him of not caring. He loved Little Rock like his own, and Columbus had grown on the man just the same. How dare that bitch say he had let it happen.

_"Bring the cart here," Tallahassee said lifting up the cases of water. Little Rock pushed the cart closer and he loaded it._

_ "Come on," Wichita said. "That's enough, lets go," she urged. The store was too empty. Too silent._

_ "No, come on, just a couple more things," Tallahassee said letting Little Rock stand on the front of the cart while he pushed it. Wichita sighed but tagged along behind him, her eyes scanning every nook and cranny._

_ A shot. A shout. The sound of a struggle. The cart was abandoned and they were in flight towards the sound. Wichita got there first. She shot the zombie and skidded up beside Columbus dropping to her knees. "No, no no!" she breathed seeing the chunk it had taken from his neck. Instinctively her hands went to the wound as Tallahassee and Little Rock ran up._

_ "Oh my god!" she squeaked. Tallahassee looked around. The store was coming to life around them._

_ "We gotta move," he hissed and threw his keys to Little Rock. "Start the truck," he said._

_ "No, no, no, no, no! Don't move!" Wichita hissed as Columbus tried to move. Frantically she tried to stop the blood but it was like a river. "Babe you have to calm down… we've got to stop the bleeding. Ohio just lay still!" she commanded trying to hold it together. Little Rock ran away while Tallahassee grabbed a rack and beat a zombie to death._

_ "Grab him we gotta go!" Tallahassee said._

_ "Florida he's bleeding to death!" Wichita exclaimed. Tallahassee threw a shirt at her._

_ "Try to get it stopped," he said as if it were a novel idea. Wichita pressed the cotton up against Columbus. Tallahassee was enough to keep the horde at bay while she cradled him up._

_ "You're going to be okay," she said. She chanted that over and over to him. Columbus tried to say something, but it was no use and too late. His ragged gasping turned into sputtering coughs as blood cascaded from his pale lips. "No! Columbus no!" she shouted at him. "No! No don't do this!" she exclaimed knowing nothing more she could do for him. "Baby please! Please! No!"_

_ Tallahassee looked at the zombies then over his shoulder. Columbus was done and he knew it. The best thing he knew to do was keep moving. Shoving one final zombie back Tallahassee spun around and grabbed Wichita around the waist. "Come on we gotta go!" he snapped._

_ "No!" She screamed fighting against him. "No! No! I won't leave him!" she shouted. Tallahassee wasn't going to give her a choice. He drug her kicking and screaming away as Columbus lay drawing in his last breaths. Wichita wasn't even making words with her screams as Tallahassee pulled her through the front doors._

_ Little Rock pulled up and he threw her into the back, slamming the door as zombies gave chase. Wichita didn't make a sound after that. No one did. Finally Tallahassee was the one to break the silence. "Fuck!" he shouted. No one spoke as he sat panting._

_ "It gets worse," Little Rock said in a small wavering voice. Tallahassee felt his stomach lurch. Little Rock held up one hand revealing a ring where teeth had been on her wrist._

_ Wichita drew in a shuddering little gasp. "No," she murmured._

_ "It's okay," Little Rock breathed._

_ "No… no," Wichita breathed._

_ "Krista… it's okay," Little Rock said again, just as controlled as the first time._

"NOOOO!" Wichita finally got her wish and the full reality of the situation broke the dam of control she had been holding onto. "NO! NO!" she sank to the floor on hands and knees and screamed as loud as her lungs could go, rocking back and forth.

Tallahassee ran down the hall at the sound of the scream. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" Wichita's voice was absolutely the sound of anguish. Her scream was loud and long each time, dying in a rasp when she finally ran out of air.

"Wichita!" he shouted beating on the door.

"Go away!" she screamed through the door making his ears ring. "Go away!" she screamed even louder a second time. He wasn't sure what to do. Her sobbing was the most horrible sound he had ever heard. Complete and total defeat resonated with every wail she let out and then he realized he had made that sound before. When he had stood over his son's grave he had screamed just the same way as his heart broke.

"Nooo! NO! NO! NOOOoooo!" she beat her fist on the floor. It was the only word she could make come out. It was the only one that seemed fitting. She had to say no and stop it from being true.

Working up everything he had he twisted the knob and pushed the door opened, surprised to see it was not locked. "Go away!" she screamed even more harshly at him when he appeared. She was crumpled on the floor, makeup smeared down her face, clutching herself tightly.

"Wichita," he said.

"No…. nooo…. No," she shouted still rocking. He put the candle down and bent down beside her.

"Wichita please," he said. She pushed him away, but she was weak. Sitting down all together he grabbed her, overpowering her and pulling her to his chest despite her protest a she continued to sob. Tallahassee didn't say a word. He was quiet and unmoving until her screaming sobs turned into muffled gasps and moans.

"Krista," he said at last, using her real name. The only time he had heard it was during Little Rock's goodbyes.

"Please just leave me alone," she groaned though she didn't push away from him anymore. He didn't really think she could.

"Krista, it's okay," he said in his most soothing voice he had. The one he used when Buck was just a baby in the crib and it was tone over words that mattered. "Stop it now," he said as he started to stroke her hair. She made the same sniffling shuddering gasps as before then she pushed away from him and slapped him hard in the face.

"You- you- you di- did this," she spat still sniffling. Tallahassee made a decision on the spot to let her. The sound of her screams had brought out that hidden caring he had, even for her. He just didn't have the words to tell her that the reason her boyfriend and sister were gone was because Columbus wanted a to get a present. _For her_. Tallahassee rubbed his jaw.

"It's gonna be okay," he said moving to touch her again. "I loved them too but-" She flinched away. He was startled that she didn't address what he had just said. It was probable that she didn't even hear him.

"No! It's not!" she shouted. "They're gone! She's gone!" she screamed. "I didn't even know his name and he's gone!" she shrieked completely losing it again as tears flooded her eyes. Tallahassee grabbed her again forcing her to stop flailing around.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Wichita was always the composed one of the group. She had never broken down or become irrational. A pillar of strength had just crumbled in front of him and he didn't know what to do.

"Shhh," he hissed softly at her. She took a deep breath swallowing hard against her scratchy throat.

"I can't do this…. I can't do this," she whispered at last. "Not without them," she panted, her voice a high-pitched rasp. He let her go and made her look at him.

"When I lost Buck I said the same thing," he said seriously to her. "I picked up a gun and was ready to kill myself when I remembered that if you live through the worst day of your life… it can never happen again," he said picking each word carefully, which was strange for the cowboy. "Today is your worst day Krista, tomorrow will be almost as bad… for a long time it will be nearly this bad," he said deciding the truth was best for her. "But you'll wake up one day and it will be better, I swear," he said.

She looked at him. She hated him and resented everything about him. His presence made her sick. "I don't know what to do," she growled at him.

Wichita then glared at him with tear-filled eyes for a moment. Tallahassee was amazingly receptive when she smothered him with a hug and buried her face in his neck. Her hot tears were uncomfortable but he hugged her back knowing it was all he could do for her. "I don't know what to do either," he admitted as she clung to him.

Neither spoke for a very long time afterwards. They sat and watched the candle shrink. The shadows changed. The sounds of night outside ebbed in and out of their hearing. Tallahassee cradled her against him as he leaned against the bed. Eventually the grieving girl fell asleep.

Her head rested on his leg and her body curled up beside him. She stilled cried silent tears in her sleep and the pain was not gone from her face. Tallahassee didn't move when the candle went out. He stayed in the dark letting her sleep while she could.

Trying to formulate what should come next was one of the hardest things he had ever done. All he could conclude was that she was all he had left and he had to do anything to protect her. He would fight and die to make sure. No matter how much they hated each other at times, she was still one of he group, and all three of the kids were _his_ kids. He'd known it since he nearly hung himself out to dry at Pacific Playland.

No zombie would ever touch her. That he knew. The biggest thing he had to protect her from though, was the truth and he knew it would make things more difficult to do so. She hated him for something he really hadn't done. He couldn't tell her though because he loved her.

In the dark bedroom of the isolated farmhouse in Iowa Tallahassee decided she could blame him.


	2. Desperate

**Didn't think I would make a second chapter, but I had some time to kill and I am sick, so... yeah. Here it is. Please drop a review.**

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By the time that light started to peek through the windows as it bled over the horizon Tallahassee's back was killing him from sitting still on the floor all night. He had long since lost touch with his legs, and when he did decide to slowly get up it took a great deal of care to not fall on his face. Wichita didn't stir when he removed himself from under her. Deciding she was so far gone it didn't matter he ignored all the aches and pains and lifted her up onto the bed. She shifted a little, and curled up a bit more, but didn't wake.

After throwing a cover over her Tallahassee went to the kitchen and dug around finding nothing. "Shit," he sighed then opened the back door. The air of morning was cool against his skin and he took a deep breath trying not to think about how many mornings like this he had spent in the company of the kids.

_Tallahassee worked on poking the fire back to life when Little Rock emerged from the tent a few feet away. "Morning," she said._

_ "Morning," he replied. She shivered a bit and scrubbed her hands over her arms in an effort to get warm in the cool morning air. Tallahassee shed his jacket. "Here," he said and tossed it._

_ The sleeves passed her hands and the whole thing in general hung around her loosely. Tallahassee focused on the fire for a moment before he looked back and smiled. She had immediately dug through his pockets and found a pack of gum. "Brush your teeth first," he said. She rolled her eyes._

Tallahassee looked around at the barren fields. Nothing edible grew and there was nowhere for him to hunt. Working his head back and forth he cracked his neck and rotated his shoulder, still trying to get loosened up. As he did his eyes grazed across a bush growing up against the house.

He stepped down off the tiny cement steps and plucked a blackberry from the bush. He studied the plant for a moment before putting it in his mouth. The juice exploded on his tongue when he popped the little thing between his teeth.

Wichita woke up and lay in the bed for a long time. She curled up, pulling the dusty pillow close. Silent tears kept leaking from her eyes, but she didn't have to scream anymore. The crushing numbing sorrow and anguish she was able to pull back deep within herself, locking it away.

She replayed the night before. The feeling of Tallahassee's arms around her and his soothing presence lingered in her mind. She hated him though. Of this she was convinced. Everything was gone because of him.

Her mind wondered from memory as she cuddled herself bed. Little Rock, Columbus, Tallahassee, they were all she had. There was no future without them. Taking away Columbus and Little Rock would be like removing the cartilage in a joint. Bone and bone would scrape together and cause pain. Wichita doubted that she could stay with Tallahassee. Not after this.

The only reason she was still with him was because he had helped her in the absolute darkest moment of her life. He had known what to do when she didn't.

_Wichita bent down slowly and placed the gun on the ground with a trembling hand as the echo died away into forever around them. Then she turned and took a couple steps away from what she had just done. The world around her was black. There was no future or past. There was only this moment that she would be trapped in forever. Trapped forever because Wichita really didn't know what to do next. Even if she had known, her instinct told her she couldn't have done it._

_ The blackness around her was broken when a car door shut. Tallahassee had a blanket and a shovel. The brim of his hat was tipped down, hiding his face. Wichita couldn't put together what he was doing. She didn't care. She didn't care about anything now._

_ She kept going taking one slow step after another towards a telephone post that was standing near the road where they had stopped. When she reached it, her arms went around the rough wood, and she leaned into it._

_ Tallahassee bent down and scooped the small form up placing it onto the blanket he had spread out. Carefully he wrapped her up, being so soft and attentive. He wanted to whisper a goodbye, but his throat was so tight he couldn't. There was nothing he could say._

_ Straightening up he picked up the shovel and the gun, tucking it into his pants. Then he looked around. It was some of the ugliest land he had ever seen, but it would have to do. Walking off the road a short ways he poised the shovel and pushed it into the earth with his boot._

_ Wichita looked back down the road where they had come from; her eyes were blank and unblinking as she stared. Then finally she forced them shut. If only she hadn't put that gun down. She turned hoping to get it back, but instead saw the cowboy digging into the earth at a slow somber pace. Her eyes flicked to the blanket._

_ There were no words, only the sound of a door slamming and two shovels biting into the earth._

Wichita sat up and wiped under her eyes with her fingers. Quickly she dug through the closet and found something new to wear. Throwing her old bloodstained clothes to the floor she left the room and went to the kitchen where Tallahassee was sitting at the table staring into space.

"I found breakfast," he said pushing a large bowel at her though he didn't look her way when she pulled a chair out to sit in.

"Thanks," she rasped, her voice still weak. They were silent for another long time, as they sat and picked at the berries. At last Tallahassee sighed.

"So, what do you want to do next?" he asked. Wichita was leaned forward, her chin resting on the table with her arms around her face like a nest.

"I don't know," she murmured. He nodded a little.

"We ate the last of the dear the other day… and there is nothing here to eat but what's in this bowel," he said slowly. "We gotta head south."

"Why south?" she asked.

"Its warm. Things will be growing. Zombies may die in the cold but so would we if we go up north again," he said. Slowly she sat up and mulled the idea over then shook her head.

"We don't have enough fire power to survive down there," she said.

"We'll find more," he said. Wichita was so tired she could feel it seeping into ever fiber of her being. She was tired of being hunted and desperate. She wanted to be safe again, even if it was just until she could form a full thought.

"We've got to go to Del Rio," she said. Tallahassee cocked his head to one side.

"What's in Del Rio?" he asked. She sighed.

"A safe place… its on the Rio…" she murmured. His brow furrowed.

"No where is safe… and safe zones are the most unsafe places of all," he said trying to caution her.

"It wasn't a safe zone at all… ever," she gave a sad little laugh. Tallahassee rubbed the bristles on his chin before he nodded.

"Okay," he said. He wasn't sure she was thinking rational, but he didn't have anything better, the Rio was south, and if it made her feel better it would be worth it.

"I'll drive," she said standing up. Tallahassee was caught in that moment for what seemed like eternity. Wichita was good looking by any mans standards, how she had ever fallen for Columbus was beyond the cowboy. She was good looking smart and strong, but today she looked like death warmed over. It hurt him to see her like that. She looked like hell and she sounded like she was two steps from a breakdown. Tallahassee thought about himself then for a moment. After Buck there was probably a period of a week when he had been just as bad, and right in the moment he wasn't doing too hot. He had just lost a huge chunk of his world all over again as well.

_Tallahassee gave Columbus a firm slap on the back. "Nice," he said._

_ "Oh my god a fucking compliment!" Columbus's voice was laced with sarcasm. Tallahassee tipped the brim of his hat up and smiled as he chomped on his gum._

_ "I say you officially know how to change a tire now," Tallahassee said. Columbus had just spent the last two hours trying to figure it all out while Tallahassee stood by critiquing every move. _

_ "Thank you god… can we just go now?" Columbus asked._

_ "The girls just went to bed. Let them sleep. You and I can have a couple cold ones," Tallahassee said. Columbus looked at the tent in the nearby yard. Tallahassee had never offered him anything to drink, save for the first time they had met, so he decided to just follow rule number thirty two._

_ "Sounds good."_

Tallahassee and Wichita didn't waste much time packing up and fleeing the state. She drove, and he gave in to sleep, leaning against the passenger door as the hours passed by. They hardly stopped, and alternated between driving and sleeping during the night.

Tallahassee grunted when Wichita poked him in the ribs. "Wake up," she said. He rubbed his eyes a bit.

"Where the hell are we?" he asked.

"In Del Rio," she replied. He looked around at the demolished city and the run down houses of what was probably a slum even before the outbreak.

"Okay… so what's in Del Rio?" he asked the same question he had over a day ago.

"My father," she murmured the words. He looked at her immediate panic in his heart. They'd come all this way on the delusion that someone was still alive.

"Wichita…" he murmured, "I'm not sure that-"

"He's alive… don't worry. He'll be alive," Wichita said. Tallahassee was puzzled but didn't say anything more as she stopped the car. "Leave the guns," she said.

"Not a chance," he replied. She glared at him.

"Florida, leave the guns," she said with such strain he put down his guns.

"Fine," he muttered.

Wichita lead the way down and ally. She stopped in front of a heavy door that was unmarked save for being laced by graffiti. She gave three loud knocks and took a step back. Tallahassee's eyes flicked between the door and her as she took a long breath. The speakeasy window of the door opened and Wichita put on her most unconcerned face. "I'm here for Talo," she said.

"Who the fuck are you?" the man on the other side said.

"Krista," she replied. "And if he doesn't know who that is tell him his daughter is around," she said. The whole snapped shut. She looked over her shoulder at Tallahassee. "Whatever you do, please just don't say a word," she said. The cowboy was about to argue when the door unlocked on the inside and opened out.

A big guy that had more tattoos than skin emerged holding a gun. He had a prison body right down to his shaved head and a dark beard on his chin. Tallahassee wasn't a push over, but this guy unnerved even the cowboy. "Didn't think you would still be alive," he said to Wichita.

"I manage," she replied. His eyes shifted to Tallahassee. "He's with me," she said. "We need a place to crash," she added. The man shifted his eyes back to Wichita.

"You show up at my door after eight years and you ask for my protection?" he growled.

"I think the situation has changed," she snarled back at him. There was a long standoffish moment then the man shifted.

"Come in," he said. She led the way and Tallahassee followed. Inside was a veritable fortress. Gun rack after gun rack lined the walls; all the doors were heavy steel; and Tallahassee got a real feel for what sort of a place it was when he saw the women laying naked on a pallet in the corner. Wichita didn't seem phased.

"So… hija, you wanna tell me what's been going on?" he Talo asked sitting down at a table with his posse as it seemed. Cards were strewn across the folding table. "That is since you took my money and ran," he said.

"Of course it's the money you're upset about," she gritted her teeth. Tallahassee felt like the tenseness of the room was going to kill him. "We've been surviving. Period," she said. "Anyway we could," she added.

"Uh huh how did you know I would be here?" he asked.

"I remembered that you kept this place. Where else would you be? You're predictable" she sighed.

"Right … so you banging this pito?" he asked.

"No, he's just a friend," she replied. "Do you have a room we can crash in?" she asked.

"Ahhh hija you can't fool your father," Talo said as he picked up his cards, "you _are_ banging this ___cabrón_."

"Please!" Wichita snapped very loudly. "I am very tired."

"You can have that room over there. We can do without it for a night I guess," Talo sighed seeming unconcerned. Wichita grabbed Tallahassee's hand and pulled him to the room. She closed the door behind them. It was an empty room save for a mattress on the floor. Tallahassee was still scrambling to piece everything together while she took a couple angry steps forward and stripped the bed of its sheets pilling them on the floor in the corner.

She sat down and buried her face in her hands. Tallahassee took a seat beside her. "I'm lost," he said innocently. "That guy is your father?" he asked.

"More or less," she murmured. "He's uhm…" her throat was uncomfortably tight. "Not a good guy," she spoke in a whisper. "He's American, but he's in… was in… so deep with the eighteenth street gang he might as well have been Mexican…. Mainly he handled a lot of the shipping in and out of the country… I uhm…. My mom was a white slave he got a hold of….. I think I was four when he killed her…." Wichita didn't look at Tallahassee when she spoke. She just kept whispering to the floor. "Little Rock's mom was just a whore that he knocked up and when she dumped the baby on dad he dumped it on me… and eventually I knew I had to get us out…. So I stole as much money as I could, a car, and Little Rock and made a break for it."

Tallahassee listened absorbing everything he could. "Uh-huh," he nodded less than poetically.

_Krista sat pulling a dress onto her Barbie on the steps to the house in the middle of the ghetto. Its plastic body was marred by scares that a dog had left long before she had rescued the doll from a trashcan. Inside the house she could hear her father yelling at the top of his lungs. One of his friends had come in earlier, carrying a pair of high heels and a baby._

_ The yelling got louder and louder until the friend left carrying a pair of high heels. She stormed down the sidewalk barefoot still shouting, but it was in some language Krista couldn't understand. Spanish was hard to keep up with and English was nearly useless around her home save for when her father was screaming it at her. Sometimes Krista wondered why all people didn't speak one single language._

_ "HIJA!" her fathers demanding voice rang. Krista panicked and stuffed her Barbie under her shirt then ran inside. She stood at attention in front of him, trying to look anywhere but at him or the baby in his arms. He reached out and stole her doll from her spending a few moments screaming at her about it. Finally he came to his conclusion. "You want to play! You want to take care of something! Here! You filthy little bitch! Take care of your sister!" he shouted as he shoved the squirming crying baby into Krista's arms. He stormed out of the house and she heard the car drive off. Nearly immediately the baby got quiet._

_ Krista looked at the baby. He hadn't told her she had a sister. She carried the baby into the living room and brushed the beer cans and newspapers off the couch so she could lay the baby down. It just kept staring at her with big brown eyes. "Hello," Krista said. The baby didn't answer. "Hola," she tried. Again there was no response. The baby just continued to wiggle around clumsily, like it couldn't control its arms and legs. She reached out and put her finger in the baby's hand. The little fingers clenched around hers and held on tight. "Dios mio… What do I call you?" Krista wondered aloud. The baby put her finger in its mouth. She laughed as it gummed her. "I could name you after mom… you like the name Izzy?" she asked. The baby continued to suck on her finger. "Sold," Krista sighed suddenly realizing there were about a million things she didn't know how to do._

"Little Rock never knew… she was just little when we took off…. And uhm… yeah…" Wichita breathed feeling a weight come off her shoulder. No one but the cowboy knew her real story. In the last minute she had told him more on an impulse than she had told anyone else. "You will notice though… he didn't even bring her up," Wichita added thinking about her little sister.

"How old were you when you got loose?" Tallahassee asked.

"Eleven," Wichita replied. "Its amazing how you can keep out of trouble if you lay low… we stayed in Wichita for a year before we moved to Little Rock," she added.

"... How old were you when you got little Rock?" he asked. Wichita thought hard for a moment.

"Jesus… ten? I think… a year can seem like an eternity," she replied. Tallahassee seemed to be thinking hard. "Don't worry… you can say it," Wichita forced out a laugh. "I'm just a piece of fucked up trash… but I like to think I made a good mom," she said. Tallahassee clenched his teeth a bit. He had not been ready for parenthood as a full-blown adult, he wasn't sure how to take a ten year old being pushed to parent hood.

"You're not fucked up," he said. "If you were fucked up it would be your own fault… anything that bastard in there did to you is not your fault… and Little Rock was a damn good kid," he breathed the last part barely able to force the word 'was' out.

"Mhmmm," Wichita nodded a bit. "I did what I could," she replied.

_It had been four days since Izzy had stopped crying and Krista was at her wits end. Her father had not been home for nearly a week. She had spent all her money on baby formula and diapers and those were nearly gone._

_ Krista sat Izzy down on the couch then took a seat beside her. They both cried for a long while before Krista could get straightened up enough to form a plan._

_ Three stiff knocks on the door was rewarded by a call from inside. "Entras!" Krista pushed open the door._

_ "Mimi!" she cried. "Ayuda!" she added handing Izzy off to a concerned looking woman. Mimi lived four blocks away, but had always been kind to Krista. The rest of the day became a crash course in caretaking with the old woman trying her best to help Krista._

"We should get some sleep," Wichita said.

"Wichita what are we doing here?" Tallahassee asked suddenly feeling uneasy.

"It's safe," she said the leaned back on the bare mattress, "-er."

"Wichita I'm really not sure. I got a bad fee-"

"Please… just let me have two days where I know I'm not going to be eaten," she said cutting him off. He looked back at her and sighed. "You could leave if you want to you know," she added. Tallahassee looked away so she couldn't see his disgust at the thought of leaving her. She was asleep in a matter of seconds after curling up on the mattress. Tallahassee sprawled out beside her. He had no intention of sleeping, but somehow it found him anyway. Greif and fatigue put him under for the first true sleep he had had.

_Krista held her swelling eye with one hand and Izzy in the other, kicking the room of her door shut softly. She put the little baby in her bed and then crawled up beside her. Izzy was asleep in seconds and Krista stifled her sobs to not wake her sister._

_ He kept hitting her harder and more frequently, every time calling her something new. She could still feel the ache of where his fingers had been on her arm. No doubt tomorrow there would be blue green shadows from them._

_ She fell asleep crying, but something woke her during the night. "Hija," her father breathed into her ear. Krista held still so she wouldn't wake Izzy. His hand was on her hip beneath the sheets. "Hija, I'm sorry I hit you," he said as his hand moved. She could smell the liquor on his breath. "You know I love you," he added. She panicked as he started to slip under her clothes, but she didn't move._

_ A knock at the front door saved her that night, and after her father passed out with a woman in his own bed Krista took her sister, the keys, and the stack of hundreds her father always seemed to have._

"Hija," the familiar voice whispered in her ear. Wichita wanted to believe it was a bad dream, but she knew it was real when she smelled the liquor on his breath. She didn't move, or speak, knowing Tallahassee was in the bed beside her, and her father was beside the bed behind her. His hand was on her ribs, but as he spoke it slid around to hold her breast. "Hija, if you're not really banging this guy, you could sleep in my room… I have a much nicer bed," he said as he pressed his lips to her neck. Wichita was catatonic. "You grew up to be such a sexy whore," he added giving her a squeeze. It finally triggered a response.

"No!" she screamed flailing and slapping him away. Tallahassee was shocked from his sleep so much he rolled off the mattress before scrambling to his feet. Her father stumbled back a bit. Wichita managed to get to he knees in anticipation of an attack.

"Come here you little bitch!" her father snapped. Tallahassee was still in the blur of sleep, but he knew enough that he could react. Lashing out the cowboy sprang across the bed and punched Talo hard in the nose. There was a sickening crunch and Tallahassee wasn't sure if it had been his hand or the man's nose. What he did know was that he was ready to throw another punch when Talo pushed him back and drew his pistol from the back of his pants. "You motherfucker!" he shouted taking aim. Tallahassee froze.

"No! No! NO!" Wichita shouted realizing how much trouble they really were in. "No! Papa! No!" she shouted trying to calm her father. "Don't! Don't!" she exclaimed.

"Why shouldn't I?" he snapped.

"Please don't kill him!" she panted. "Please!" she breathed lowering her voice again as Talo seemed to calm. "Please don't…"

"I wasn't going to kill him… just shoot the motherfucker in the knee," he said still holding the gun tight.

"Papa, papa," she shook her head. "If he can't run he can't survive," she said.

"That was the idea," Talo said getting a sadistic grin. "Feed the fucker to the zombies," he growled.

"Please," Wichita said. "Don't. He's my friend." There was intolerable moment of silence.

"To bad," Talo said. The shot was deafening in the small space. Wichita held her ears as they rang. Tallahassee was on the floor holding his leg, and her father was looking pleased. Some of the other guys came in the room. Her father spoke in Spanish to them and they grabbed Tallahassee forcing him to his knees. "So, what will it be? The eyes or the chest?"

"Fuck off," Tallahassee spat. Talo raised the gun again, but Wichita flung herself on him.

"No! No! NO! NO!" she exclaimed. "No! Please! Please!" he pushed her away. "ALRIGHT! Papa, anything you want!" she shouted quickly. There was a sort of calm brought by her pleading. "Please! Please! Don't kill him! You can have anything you want! You- you can- you can have anything you want… just let him live," she panted. "Let him go you can have me…" tears were visible in her eyes.

"Deal, get him cleaned up and out of my house," Talo said. He and the other men retreated leaving Tallahassee and Wichita alone. She collapsed on the mattress as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

"Fuck Wichita," he grunted. "You didn't have to do that," he snapped.

"He gets me either way…. At least you can get away…." She breathed holding her head in her hands. There was a silence. "I'm sorry," she breathed. He looked at her as she shed her long sleeve shirt, leaving only her cami. "I'm sorry I killed us," she said as she ripped it and tied it around his leg. "I'm just desperate… I guess it made me stupid enough to think maybe I still had someone that I'd mean something to… since I didn't to start with I dunno what made me think Talo was it… but…"

Tallahassee winced at the pressure on his wound. She had just sacrificed herself to save him and he was till processing that it meant she didn't completely hate him. "How thick do you think those doors are?" Tallahassee asked. Wichita was thrown by the question.

"What?" she asked. He less than gracefully got to his feet.

"You're always gonna mean something to at least one person," he said putting a hand on the top of her head before he left her. "Wait here," he said closing the door. Wichita couldn't move for the second time that day. She wasn't sure who hated who if anyone did at all.

_"You dumb fuck," she hissed smacking Tallahassee in the back of the head._

_ "Ow!" he snapped. "How was I supposed to know you were sleeping in the tent?"_

_ "I told you I would be!" she barked._

_ "Okay well how was I supposed to know it was tied to the truck?" he defended himself from another smack._

_ "YOU WERE THE ONE THAT DID IT!" she shouted at him. Tallahassee ducked when she smacked at him again._

_ "Its not like I drug you a fucking mile!" he shouted back. The argument promptly erupted into a series of well thought out insults. Little Rock and Columbus arrived back in time to watch Tallahassee start throwing water balloons at the seething girl. Little Rock had filled them and put them in a cooler for later use._

_ "Hey those are mine!" she shouted joining the fight. Columbus tried to slip away._

_ "Oh no you don't spit fuck!" Tallahassee laughed throwing a blue one and pegging the boy in the back of the head._

_ Wichita couldn't help but laugh as they all warred with the water balloons, at last all three of the kids ganged up, soaking Tallahassee into soggy submission._

Wichita was about to cry when she was knocked backwards by the invisible loud force. The world around her was a cascade of deafening sound and she held her ears, curling into a ball until things went silent.

She got up and ran, throwing herself against the door. "Tallahassee!" she shouted as it gave way for her. The room was just charred and riddled with bullet holes. Whatever the cowboy had done had done a damn good job. The bodies on the floor were unidentifiable. "Florida!" she screamed.

She was alone. Tears were starting to burn her eyes. She didn't hate him. She couldn't blame him for the others deaths. It wasn't his fault. He didn't mean it. He'd given himself to save her. The last of three people in the entire world she cared about was gone and she never even knew his real name. "Tal!" she shouted. "No!" her voice went to a high-pitched sob as she shrank to the floor.

Her legs were almost shaking too much for her to run to the door when something beat on it. If the zombies were already around she wanted them to get her. She couldn't live alone.

Wichita flung open the door and felt her jaw hit the floor. "I know, I love grenades too," he joked. "You okay?" Tallahassee asked taking her by the shoulders.

"Florida!" she exclaimed hugging him.

"Come on we gotta go," he said wishing he didn't have to rush her, but he could hear zombies on the way.

"I don't hate you," she said as tears ran down her cheeks. She had to tell him. She felt like if she didn't she would explode. He gave a moment to look at her a little confused.

"I know," he said reassuringly. "Come on we gotta go," he said again. "It's gonna be okay Krista… I promise." They started to make for the truck.

"Florida?" she asked as she got in the driver side.

"Yeah?" he replied closing the passenger side door.

"What's you're name?"


	3. What Now?

**I would make a formal apology for not writing in such a long time, but that would be a waste of your time, so I will just say, I AM SORRY TO ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE! :) yay friends again ;) **

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! hopefully I will be able to write a good bit in 2011 :)  
**

* * *

It was getting worse and Wichita was starting to realize she had to tell him. Tallahassee was already halfway up the steps of the library, holding the iron fire poker in one hand and his gun in the other. The sleepy little east coast town had been pretty silent for them. All the signs around town pointed to the library being the place of shelter. Places of shelter meant two things: supplies and zombies.

Sure enough the building was barricaded like fortress and Wichita started to drag herself up the steps, still feeling sick. He was oblivious to it as he opened up a zombie policeman's head. She looked at the gross splatter and for the first time since the outbreak had started couldn't hold it in.

Tallahassee turned around to see Wichita heaving into the bushes. "You okay?" he always managed to realize the questions were dumb after the fact.

"I'm fine," she replied standing up, her hand gripping the rail of the steps.

"You don't act fine. What's been goin' on?" Tallahassee asked.

"Florida!" she snapped. He spun around and killed the librarian then looked back at her.

"Seriously," he said pushing his earlier question. Wichita closed her eyes taking a deep breath.

"I think I'm pregnant," she said. Tallahassee felt his stomach lurch. "On the left," she added. He whirled around and smashed the iron poker into the zombies face.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Morning sickness… and I skipped… I didn't think it meant anything at first but," she sighed and shrugged. Tallahassee gritted his teeth. "Just… finish up grandma kettle there. I'm going back to the car," Wichita said turning to leave. She could hear the sickening crunch as Tallahassee took out the old lady zombie.

Wichita pulled the passenger door closed and sat in the comfort of the truck for a moment completely empty headed. Her anxiety that what she feared was true grew everyday, and now that Tallahassee knew it would only get worse. At the same time though she knew it would happen regardless of anything they could do. She closed her eyes, pulling her legs up to her chest as she curled up on the seat.

_He was so warm. Wichita tried to get closer amongst the tangle of sleeping bags and blankets that they had strewn inside the tent. Columbus was somewhere between asleep and awake as he put his arm around her and pulled her closer._

_ She liked it when he would break his rules for her. Generally he would insist that the get dressed before falling asleep, but now and again they wouldn't. She loved having nothing between them. "Say it again?' she murmured._

_ "I love you," he whispered. He was the only one in the world she would allow herself to be weak around. When she did, she craved his tender affection. The world had never rewarded her with anything but a backhand whenever she attempted to be human. Columbus rewarded her with gentle intimacy that she hadn't ever dreamed of._

_ "I love you too," she murmured._

Wichita opened her eyes looking around at the cold winter landscape. She didn't like it though and closed them again. "I love you…" she murmured in the softest voice she had. "I love you," she repeated a few more times, still holding herself. She stopped when Tallahassee opened the driver side door.

"I couldn't get in," he said. She let her legs fall away from her chest. "We'll have to come back," he added.

"There probably isn't anything in there," she said. There was a silence then he took a breath leading to speech. But she cut him off. "You don't have to say anything about it," she said.

"Yeah I kinda do," he replied. She sighed.

"No, you don't," she repeated. "I just wanted to let you know so that… you know," she shrugged.

"Not really," he replied looking at the steering wheel.

"Yeah me either," she replied despondently. There was another silence then Tallahassee managed to speak.

"Look… I knew you two were… ya know, but I assumed that he was using-" Tallahassee was cut off again much to his relief.

"We were," she said stopping him before things got so uncomfortable she couldn't bear it. "We were and there were no… 'incidents' so…" she leaned back looking up at the ceiling for the truck. "I just don't know," she muttered. He turned the key and started the heat.

"What now?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied.

"Where do we go?" he asked.

"I don't know," she breathed closing her eyes.

"What do we do?" he asked.

"I don't know!" she snapped here eyes flicking open and glaring at him. "I don't know Florida! I don't have any of the answers!" she shouted. He didn't say anything while she looked away taking deep angry breaths. She could feel tears stinging in her eyes.

"I don't have them either," he said softly at last. She sighed closing her eyes then opened the door and got out.

"Where are you going?" he asked before she slammed the door shut again. The sound echoed off the dead buildings in the eerie silence. "Oh shit!" he snapped watching her walk away. Tallahassee fumbled to shut the truck off and get out grabbing a baseball bat as he went.

Wichita heard the car door open behind her and picked up her pace, fleeing as fast as she could run. She didn't know where she was going in any sense, but she knew she had to keep away from him for her answer to the problem to work. She ran as hard as she could. 'Damn him!' she thought as tears started to run down her face. 'God damn him why did he have to do this to me?' a voice in her head was screaming now. 'Why did he have to go?'

_"Hey look at this," Columbus said getting Wichita's attention. Little Rock grinned as she skipped a stone across the still water of the pond. It hoped four times before vanishing below the surface._

_ "He taught me how to skip rocks," she said. Wichita smiled at her sister._

_ "Who can skip it farther?" she asked._

_ "Me," both of them answered at the same time. They looked at each other._

_ "You cannot," Columbus laughed._

_ "Can so," the girl replied. Columbus bent down and picked up two good rocks._

_ "Lets see it then," he said. Little Rock skipped her stone five times then looked at him defiantly._

_ "Beat it," she stuck her tongue out. Columbus only managed to skip it three times. He immediately looked at the kid._

_ "It was a bad rock!" he exclaimed._

_ "I WIN!" Little Rock gloated. He rolled his eyes as Wichita laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes. When she stopped laughing her sister was still singing a victory song to an un-amused Columbus._

_ "The student has become the master," Columbus sighed._

_ "Go show Florida," Wichita suggested to her sister. Little Rock was gone in a flash with a collection of stones to find Tallahassee down the bank where he was fishing. The older girl wondered over to her boyfriend and put her arms on his shoulders swaying back and forth. "You did that on purpose didn't you?" she smiled. He grinned a little, resting his hands on her hips._

_ "Maybe," he replied. She kissed him._

_ "You would make a really good dad," she said. Columbus looked startled._

_ "Kids?" he asked. Wichita looked out at the pond for a moment._

_ "I dunno… maybe… if we ever get to somewhere safe enough," she said._

_ "Uh-huh," he murmured looking at her, watching the light sparkle in her eyes. "Never unless you want to," he said._

_ "Mmmmm… well, I could never do it on my own," she said leaning into him. Wichita was silently adding 'again' to her statement as she watched her sister skipping stones. She hadn't done a bad job raising her sister, but she knew she could have done better._

_ "You're never gonna have to," Columbus replied in a whisper. Then he smiled. "I will not be a slave to gender rolls," he chuckled. "I'll stay home with the kids and you can make the money for the car payments," he winked. Wichita laughed before she kissed him._

_ "You're so stupid," she smirked shaking her head. He raised his eyebrows cocking his head nervously. "But I love you," she added._

_ "I love you too," he replied._

Tallahassee would limp just a little every now and again from where he had been shot in Del Rio, but the wound had healed nicely for the most part. He was not fast enough to catch her though, and he knew it. Wichita was too far ahead of him. He was desperate to keep up with her when she rounded a corner and disappeared from his sight.

Skidding around the corner he leveled his gun and shot a zombie that was going right for her. "Wichita!" he snapped. She tripped and stumbled to the ground where she landed on her hands and knees giving him a chance to catch up. She tried to get away, but he caught her by the wrist. "Wichita stop it!" he snapped.

"Let me go!" she hissed. He shot another zombie, but the horde was on its way and he knew it.

"Stop it!" he snapped pulling her up onto her feet when she started to go limp like a child would when it throws a tantrum. "Hey!" he jerked her up and caught her by the shoulders. "Now you listen to me!" he growled. "I already lost the other two and I am not about to lose you!" he barked. She gritted her teeth. He shot another zombie dragging her back towards the truck. She batted him away.

"No!" she exclaimed taking a step back. He didn't move.

"Then what?" he asked shrugging. "Get bit? Die? What's it solve?" he snapped.

"I. Cannot. Do this," she said her voice wavering. "I just can't!" she shouted. "Florida I am so scared," she lowered her voice shaking her head, "and I am so angry," her lip quivered. "And I am so tired…" tears rolled down her face. "I'm angry at him… for leaving me…" she threw her hands up then put one over her mouth as if to stop the sobs. "I can't do this without him," she breathed. Tallahassee glanced around at the zombies.

"We have to go," he said calmly.

"No," she shook her head.

"Wichita," he said feeling alarm. "Now."

"I won't," she said. "I give up."

"Is that what he would want?" Tallahassee asked pulling his very last card. "Would Columbus want you to just give up? Kill you and the baby both?" Tallahassee took a step forward, sweating as he heard the zombies. "Do this for him," Tallahassee said. He took a step towards her and put out his hand. "Wichita, Columbus is gone, but you're gonna have his kid… he'll always be with you." A zombie came around the corner. "And you don't have to go it alone, I'm gonna be right here with you." Wichita seemed to freeze while she thought.

Tallahassee knew it had been too long, so he raised his bat, took off and smacked the zombie square in the face. It hit the pavement just as the rest of its friends rounded the corner. "Fuck," Tallahassee panted. Wichita couldn't move.

'Florida!' she could hear her own voice scream in her head, taking her back. She could almost feel a hand holding her sleeve, keeping her in place.

_All of this had been a mistake. They had come north in the hopes of fewer zombies, but hadn't gone far enough as it happened. During a stop a zombie had cornered Little Rock and chased her off the frozen road, through some trees. She tumbled down a little hill into a vast clearing. Picking herself up she ran as fast as the snow would let her._

_ The others had followed through the trees. "Izzy freeze!" Wichita had screamed realizing that it was a lake. Her sister couldn't hear her and kept going._

_ "Shoot it!" Columbus exclaimed as Tallahassee looked through the scope of his favorite rifle. The shot rang out and the zombie dropped, but the danger was only starting. When the body hit the ice it cracked, and the icy water swallowed up the corpse. Little Rock got a few steps farther, before the ice shattered beneath her and she dropped into the frigid water. She was gone in an instant._

_ "No!" all three of the adults screamed in unison. Tallahassee didn't hesitate, throwing the rifle over his shoulder he jumped off the bank onto the ice. By some miracle it held his weight and he ran without a second thought towards the hole where she had gone under._

_"Florida!" Wichita shouted starting to follow him. Columbus grabbed her sleeve holding her back. They waited on the bank holding their breath as he sprinted without caution. Once or twice the ice started to crack and his boot dipped in, but he didn't stop._

_ "Little Rock! Hang on I'm coming!" he shouted. Tallahassee didn't even get close to the hole in the ice before it cracked beneath him and he fell through completely. All that was left was his hat, sitting on the ice._

_ "Shit!" Columbus exclaimed._

_ "Oh god!" Wichita started to pull forward again, but Columbus kept her back._

_ "Wait! Wait…" he breathed his eyes glued to the surface of the lake._

_ "Are you insane?" she snapped. "They're gonna drown!" she shouted._

_ "He'll get her," Columbus said still watching, even though his heart was in his throat. "Just give him a minute… he'll get her." An eerie silence fell over the lake. Wichita thought her heart would break through her chest._

_ "We've gotta go!" she insisted. Columbus didn't move._

_ "Come on come on come on come on come on," he chanted under his breath. Wichita slid down the bank and started out onto the ice, though at a horribly slow pace. Columbus felt his stomach lurch when the butt if the rifle broke the ice and Tallahassee pushed Little Rock up onto the powder covered surface. Wichita started to run and Columbus couldn't help himself. Less than gracefully he slid down the bank and caught up to his girlfriend._

_ Tallahassee was coughing as he hauled himself out of the water, hoping the ice would hold them. He pulled himself over to Little Rock. "Little Rock!" he snapped. She wasn't moving at all. "Shit!" he hissed feeling insane panic grow in his stomach. "No, no, no," he muttered rubbing and shaking her a little, trying to get her to come around. "She's not breathing!" he shouted as the others got close._

_ "Izzy!" Wichita cried._

_ "Move," Columbus pushed both Tallahassee and Wichita away, bending over Little Rock. He was meticulous in his CPR despite his shaking hands, but to the ungodly relief of the others it worked. Little Rock sputtered back into the world. "We gotta get off the ice," Columbus said. Tallahassee scooped Little Rock up and they retreated from the lake. _

_Both Tallahassee and Little Rock were almost frozen by the time they got back to the truck. He put her in the back and turned around, ready to peel most of his own clothes off in trade for ones that weren't icy, when Wichita slapped him in the arm. "Ow!" he snapped reacting to the sting. She glared at him for a moment._

"_That was really really stupid what you did," she said. His jaw dropped for a second. "Thank you for saving her," she added and hugged him._

Wichita turned around watching Tallahassee be mobbed by the vicious zombies. He swung the bat wildly striking one after another down as they flooded the small street. She turned around and ran.

Tallahassee panted as he kicked a zombie back while hitting another with the bat. His heart sank to his feet when he saw Wichita retreating away out of the corner of his eye. "Krista!" he called in a weak attempt to keep from being left. She didn't look back though.

The cowboy was forced to focus on the zombies that were intent on ripping him apart. Claws and teeth seemed to be everywhere and Tallahassee understood that he wasn't going to get away from this. He had killed himself trying to save her and she repaid him by not looking back.

"Get down!" she shouted. Tallahassee didn't know where she was, but he dropped to the ground. The roar of one of the machine guns he had commandeered sounded. The zombies fell dead for the most part and he made a run for the truck waiting at the end of the street. Wichita jumped into the passenger side and they wasted no time leaving the town.

"I didn't think you were coming back," he panted as they drove away.

"How could I not," she replied.

"You had given up," he shrugged.

"Mhmmm… but you hadn't," she said. He glanced over at her and she gave a small smile. "I mean, if you are still busting your lazy ass to survive, I can't give up," she sighed. He cocked an eyebrow and she smirked. "You were right for once," she added, "even Columbus would give me shit for thinking that was an option," she lowered her voice. "He'd want this baby," she sighed.

"Mmmm… so what now?" Tallahassee asked. Wichita opened her door and smashed it into a zombie, closing it again with a satisfied look.

"No fucking idea," she smirked.

"Yeah, me either," he nodded with a chuckle.


End file.
